The American Health Care Act means all Americans will have access to affordable coverage of the highest quality, rather than being forced into accepting substandard coverage they don't want, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said Thursday.
"Sadly, 20 million people in his country decided to either take the penalty for not signing up for Obamacare, or to ask for a waiver," Price told Fox News' "Fox and Friends" program.
"There are more individuals who took the penalty than signed up through the subsidy . . . this is a failed plan. A failed system. It doesn't work for patients and that's the key. We are focusing on patients and what will make it so that they are the ones in charge."
Obamacare, he continued, has been a disaster for both individuals and in the small group market, as premiums and deductibles are climbing and people are getting priced out of the market.
"We have a third of the counties in this country that only have one insurer," Price said. "Five states only have one insurer. We learned this past week there are counties with none. This plan does not work at all. It's a failed plan. What we are trying to do is fix the healthcare system and move it in a direction where patients and families and doctors are making decisions not the federal government."
Meanwhile, there is a collection of items that are being included in the bill, as the measure is in three phases, which has caught some people by surprise.
"The messaging might not have been absolutely piercing to folks but we talked about them in the totality of it," Price said. "But there are three phases, and that's how we are going to move forward. And what those three phases do in their entirety is to incorporate all the things that we want, including purchases across state lines."
Some of the biggest critics of the plan, including Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, have complained about the many items that aren't in the bill, but Price said all the measures are included "in the totality of the plan."
"As we speak, we're going through regulations that we believe are driving up costs," said Price. Regulations that don't help patients will be scrapped, he continued, calling Jordan a "great guy" and saying it's hoped that the bill will gain his support.
Price also said individual and family deductibles will come down with the proposed plan, as there will be choice about coverage.
Price said he is sure the reform plan will pass, as the Trump administration is working with lawmakers to address their concerns.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.